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Spain Santiago de Compostela

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  • Jayme PorkolabJayme’s Camino Portugués
    3
    11354411
    Day 36

    Day 33 - The end of a journey?

    Yesterday in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 46 °F

    “It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”—-Ursula K. Le Guin

    Today , at 10:30a Santiago time, I completed my Camino. However, they say the real Camino begins when you get home. Time will tell, but I have a feeling they are right.

    I left the Aubergue early this morning and took my time even stopping a few times for a cappuccino. I guess I wanted to prolong the journey. I was surprised I didn’t see many pilgrims on the path; perhaps they all decided to sleep in.

    Arriving in front of the Cathedral was a feeling I can’t explain. I’m 70 freakin’ years old and I did it! I walked from Lisbon to Santiago! The tears flowed and I tried to hold them back as I asked a stranger to take my photo. I connected with people from all around the world. Some just exchanging polite pleasantries and others having deep, meaningful conversations. I witnessed humanity at its finest. I wish more people would travel and really connect with other cultures; perhaps then we could achieve peace on earth.

    I went to mass and was surprised and excited when they used the Botafumeiro, which is not always the case. It was just like in the movie The Way. I’ve attached a video.

    The ‘Botafumeiro’ is the famous giant thurible or censer in the Santiago de Compostela cathedral. It has been used since the Middle Ages, originally to clean the air when crowds of pilgrims, having completed the Camino de Santiago, arrived in Santiago de Compostela after their long journey

    The current ‘Botafumeiro’ dates back to 1851, and it’s made of silver-plated brass, weighing 53kgs when empty and up to 10 kgs more when full. Eight men, called ‘Tiraboleiros’, are required to operate the ‘Botafumeiro’. It was quite the sight!

    Afterwards I received my official compostela and then met my friends, the Genovese gang to celebrate.

    This afternoon, after a short nap, I also went thru Santiago’s Holy Door which is open only during Jubilee years and received an additional, special, compostela. As I was leaving the church bells were ringing throughout the city. A new Pope had been selected, an American Pope! The Catholics I spoke to were quite happy with the choice.

    Then this evening I found the perfect restaurant to have a celebratory dinner for one, the name of the restaurant was ‘Restaurant San Jaime’. I decided to refrain from telling them they spelled Jayme wrong. The food was excellent, worth every euro.

    Tomorrow Rich, Arlene, and I have foot massages booked. We will explore the city some more before we go our separate ways: me to Madrid then home and they to Paris.

    Thank you for following my journey!    Read more

  • TravelerSpring 2025 Camino
    3
    Day 38

    A Peña and Piaxe

    May 3 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    A big name for a small town a third of the way to Finisterre.

    After saying my goodbyes over a cafeteria breakfast in the basement of our VAST former seminary albergue, I headed out. Sad to say goodbye, thrilled to be wrapping up this Camino with a few solo days. Ending it like I started. The time alone felt really good, spiritually and also, I’m an introvert! That was a LOT of social connection for me!

    Today for the first time I saw roses! It was late in their season last time but I still saw, and photographed so many! I love them and was happy to get to say hi to some before leaving Spain.

    The last hour of my walk was…exciting? There had been rumblings and threatening skies, and then the storm arrived. It wasn’t that it lasted so long or dumped so much rain on me. It was that for a little while it was Right Over me! Like, flash-BANG! The first time that happened I’ll admit it - I screamed a little. The next few times I hunched my shoulders every time the lightning flashed. Because that’s gonna keep me alive, right? Tall trees on both sides of a narrow trail. Was that good because I wasn’t the tall object, or bad because….i don’t know. I couldn’t remember my lightning safety! I think make yourself small, just your feet on the ground, but I couldn’t get myself to do it. Just scurried along, praying manically. And, obviously, was just fine. Arrived at my albergue very shortly thereafter. Phew!

    Now I’m parked in a two-bunk room with two older French guys and a younger guy from…Croatia I think. One of whom keeps shutting the window. We are in for a needlessly stuffy night, I think. But day after tomorrow - the ocean!!    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal
    211314
    Day 20

    Day 17 Easter A Canadian in Santiago

    April 20 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Up at 5 and left by 6 am to walk the 1.5 km to the Cathedral

    I was not the first person to arrive, there was a father and son from Montana who said that I had an AMERICAN ACCENT !!!! Seriously?
    "YOU DO NOT TALK LIKE A CANADIAN!!!🧐🙄"

    K....Can you explain how a Canadian talks? Maybe I didn't say " eh" enough???? WOW.....He thought we were buddies because he was from Montana and I sounded like him?? Go figure. Too early for me and certainly not enough caffeine to process this😂 And this has happened before....

    Anyway, we got in and I took my favorite seat to wait. You will never guess who sat down beside me??? Yup Anna and Elliot🥰 Anna even had chocolate Easter Eggs to share🥳....

    The service at 12 was packed!! It was something that I will never forget. The sound of the Pipe Organ the choir, the soloist. The procession and the Botafumeiro.

    I was pretty tired though and decided at 13:15 to leave after communion. I did and then halfway home realized I had forgotten Kendra's hat on the church pew!!!!!😥😭

    I decided to have lunch at the hostel and then hike back ( 1.5 km) yet again to see if I could get it back🤞🍀🥺 The hat has been on all of my solo adventures and is very special to me🫶😉♥️

    So luckily there wasn't the huge lineup to get in like previous days, and low and behold the hat was exactly where I had left it!!!!🥳👏

    The sun 🌞 came out a little today which was nice.
    I was able to buy a fresh baguette from a panadaria that was open and also a delicious cookie🤗

    There was a group of 10 young girls that checked into the hostel ... I was surprised at how many uses there are for a hairdryer😉 Shocking really.

    Anyway I was able to get to sleep eventually. Tomorrow marathon bus to Lisbon!    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal
    1
    Day 18

    Day 15 Rest Day

    April 18 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    What a wonderful cosy hostel. Slept in and enjoyed a late breakfast. Pouring rain outside!!

    Enjoyed chatting with Elliot and Anna over coffee. They have cycled from Lisbon up to Santiago They will join the Del Note Camino up to Southern France. Very cool!!

    I walked down to the Cathedral and got in line. I decided to get a seat and wait for the 1800 Good Friday service. I waited for almost 3 hours but it was so worth the experience.

    Trudged home afterwards in the pouring rain.
    Had dinner and chatted again with Elliot and Anna. They are camping for the next 2 nights.....yup forecast 100% rain!!! 😱    Read more

  • Lisa KalettaCamino del Norte
    Day 28

    Camino del Norte

    April 18 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Dear Camino,

    for 26 full days and around 880km I have been walking on you to get to Santiago de Compostela.

    It feels like it was yesterday when I left Leipzig, my eyes still red from crying because I had to dismiss mi Cariño for 2 months and because my best friend surprised me by coming to Leipzig in the middle of the night to say goodbye to me 🩷

    It feels like yesterday when I arrived to Irún, the rain pouring but me feeling excited about whatever adventures and experiences you have in stock for me.

    And it feels like yesterday that I did my first step on you, knowing there will be around 1 Million more to be done.

    Indeed, reaching Santiago is not the highlight of this journey for me.
    My highlights are the inspiring people I met, the insanely beautiful landscapes I saw and the things I learnt about me & life.

    After all, Santiago is the defined destination of the pilgrimage but the moments I will remember are distributed on the last 880km!

    I am incredibly grateful to have gotten the chance to fulfill me such a dream.
    Grateful to my partner who let me go for 2 months even though he must think I am mad 🩷
    Grateful for my boss who always supported the whole adventure and who enabled me to get this amount of vacation (which I keep hearing is definitely a rare thing!)
    And grateful for the people supporting me, in whatever way, especially my parents, close friends and my team mates 🩷

    Since I have time left, I decided to move on to Finisterre & Muxía to spend the Easter period and also my birthday there.

    But at first, I am sharing my personal highlights below 🩷    Read more

  • Lisa KalettaCamino del Norte
    2
    Day 28

    SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

    April 18 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Believe it or not - I slept pretty well last night!

    I started walking at 7am in the morning, knowing I had only about 10km to go.

    To be fair, I was glad that I had a short walk in front of me. As you might see on my pictures, it rained...and it did not stop.
    When I reached Santiago, my clothes were soaking wet and I was freezing.
    I tried to heat up by drinkig tea- without real success.

    On top of that, I waited 1.5 hours in the pouring rain to enter the cathedral! Alone, I wouldn't have waited I guess but I was with the Korean guy from 2 days ago.
    The cathedral was impressive! After all it was at least worth the suffering. 🙏    Read more

  • Hablar espagnol
    Day 50–52

    Santiago de Compostela

    April 17 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Wer nur unsere Status-Bilder sieht könnte meinen, wir hätten stets wunderschönes Wetter. Tatsache ist, dass wir in Galizien sind und dass die Aussage bezüglich der sprunghaften Wetterwechsel durchaus zutrifft. Ausser gerade jetzt; momentan ist es zuverlässig und anhaltend kalt und regnerisch. Und die nächsten Tage solls noch schlimmer werden.

    Die Bilder sind stets unbearbeitet und echt. Bloss gibt es halt die Angewohnheit, jedes noch so kurze Schönwetterfenster für eine Aufnahme zu nutzen. Der malerischen Sujets gibt es viele und so entsteht dann der Eindruck, wir hätten stets eitel Sonnenschein.

    Deshalb hier mal einen vertieften Einblick in die andere Realität. Santiago de Compostela bzw das innere Galizien erleben wir gerade in einer andauernden (Stark-)Regenphase: auf Schweizerdeutsch "en schöne Seich". Da heißt es auf die Zähne beissen und die Zuversicht nicht verlieren. Allerdings klage ich da auf sehr hohem Niveau und im Camper-Stübli am Trockenen.
    Ganz anders die unzähligen Pilger, die Einzeln und in Gruppen unterwegs sind, unter bunten Pelerinen und mit farbenfrohen Rucksäcken, plaudernd und singend, denen scheint das Wetter kaum was auszumachen.

    Die Atmosphäre auf dem grossen Platz vor der Kathedrale ist schon sehr eindrücklich und ergreifend. Wie viele persönliche Geschichten und Schicksale da wohl zusammen kommen. Ganz unterschiedliche Gründe mögen jeden einzelnen bewogen haben, ein Stück Pilgerweg unter die Füße zu nehmen. Derzeit sind es auffallend viele Spanier, die ankommen, sehr viele junge Menschen auch. (Es heißt, es sei für junge Spanier vorteilhaft, wenn der "Camino" im CV/Lebenslauf aufgeführt sei. Viele fahren per Bus bis nach Sarria, um von da aus die letzten 115 Kilometer des Jakobswegs zu gehen. Denn im Stempelheft (Credential) müssen die letzten 100km ausgewiesen sein, damit man das Abschluss-Zertifikat als Jakobspilger erhält.)

    Eine grosse Gruppe fiel mir auf wegen der einheitlichen T-Shirts: "wir werden dein Lachen nie vergessen", dazu das Foto einer jungen Spanierin auf zahlreichen Badges. Offensichtlich ein grosser Familien- und Freundeskreis, der zum Gedenken an diese verstorbene Frau den Weg gemeinsam machte. Was für ein starkes Zeichen der Verbundenheit und was für eine - im wörtlichen Sinne - bewegende Erinnerung.

    Ich habe dieser Tage das Buch "zum Glück gelaufen" von Andrea Marie Eisele gelesen. Sie beschreibt ihre ganz persönlichen Erfahrungen auf dem Camino Frances von St.Jean-Pied-de-Port bis Santiago bzw zum Cabo Fisterra. Das sind dann 880 Kilometer und damit schon rein körperlich eine eindrückliche Leistung; mehr aber noch ein starker persönlicher Wandlungsprozess. Ein grosses Streetart-Bild in Ponferrada bringt dies schön zum Ausdruck: no cambio, no mariposa (no change, no butterfly).    Read more

    See translation
  • TravelerVia de la Plata
    Day 34

    Santiago de Compostela (2)

    April 13 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Enjoying this lovely city! After Pilgrim Mass yesterday there was a Holy Week parade inside the cathedral because of the weather, and this morning another in the streets.

    771 km in 30 days: average 26 km per day

    Injuries: none, but:
    - A chilblain
    - Sunburned ears

    Met people from: Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, United States, Canada, also Quebec, New Zealand, Australia, UK (one, for 5 minutes).

    Lost or broken:
    - Shampoo bottle leaked, thrown away🗑️
    - Large piece of nice cheese left in Monastery albergue fridge 😔
    - Guide book left in a cafe on day 27
    - Kindle - but Laetitia found it and carried it to the next town for me 😊

    Would I do this route again?
    - Via de la Plata: No
    - Camino Sanabrés from Tábara: yes, especially the Galicia section    Read more

  • TravelerVia de la Plata
    Day 33

    Santiago de Compostela

    April 12 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    A triumphant arrival in Santiago in rain - as on my last two occasions - for me and Maddy. With 22 km today I've officially walked 771 km. I have my third Compostela.

    We've crossed streams, endured rain, snoring and coughing, hot and cold dormitories, a lack of choice of food and sometimes no food, and we've planned and improvised our way through. 

    I have a single room in the enormous Seminario Menor (the smaller of the two old seminaries, both now albergues), for two nights. I'm tired and will enjoy the rest.    Read more

  • TravelerMein Weg
    1
    Day 30

    Pedrouso -> Santiago „ANKOMMEN“

    April 11 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Die Nacht war ziemlich schlaflos - ob es die Aufregung war? Zum Sonnenaufgang bin ich bereits unterwegs zum Frühstück in eine der dutzenden Bars und Cafés entlang der Hauptstraße, mit mir hunderte andere Pilger.

    Danach geht’s auf die letzten 20km bis Santiago. Eigentlich für mich nur ein Zwischenstopp ist es dann doch sehr emotional als wir zu dritt auf den Platz laufen.

    Nachdem ich mir die Compostela im Pilgerbüro geholt habe, treiben wir uns noch den restlichen Tag in der Stadt herum und genießen das Gefühl mit vielen anderen Pilgern zusammen. Dabei treffe ich das eine oder andere bekannte Gesicht von unterwegs wieder.    Read more

    See translation

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